Storage servicing apparatus

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for storing and transporting athletic equipment such as wrestling mats comprising an overhead horizontally disposed suspended support beam having a movable carriage means mounted thereon. A first power means is provided on the movable means for selectively longitudinally driving the movable means along the length of the support beam. A pair of cable members extend downwardly from the movable means and have a sling secured to the lower end thereof adapted to embrace and removably support the mat therein. A second power means is provided on the movable means for selectively raising and lowering the cable members and the sling.

United States Patent 11 1 Condon STORAGE SERVICING APPARATUS [75]Inventor:

[73] Assignee: Mac Press, Inc., Barnum, Iowa [22] Filed: Dec. 17, 1973[21] Appl. No.: 425,209

Edmund ,1. Condon, Barnum, Iowa [56] References Cited UNITED STATESPATENTS 2,730,047 l/1956 Rollings 105/153 2,812,863 11/1957 Ralston212/71 Primary ExaminerLloyd L. King Assistant Examiner-1-1oward BeltranVoorhees [5 7] ABSTRACT An apparatus for storing and transportingathletic equipment such as wrestling mats comprising an overheadhorizontally disposed suspended support beam having a movable carriagemeans mounted thereon. A first power means is provided on the movablemeans for selectively longitudinally driving the movable means along thelength of the support beam. A pair of cable members extend downwardlyfrom the movable means and have a sling secured to the lower end thereofadapted to embrace and removably support the mat therein. A second powermeans is provided on the movable means for selectively raising andlowering the cable members and the sling.

5 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This inventionrelates to an apparatus for storing and transporting athletic equipmentand more particularly to an apparatus which may be used to store andtrans port wrestling mats or the like.

In schools, wrestling mats are ordinarily placed on the gymnasium floorwhen meets are being conducted. It is necessary to remove the mats whenthe gymnasium is going to be used for other activities. Frequently, themats are then taken to the gymnasium balcony to enable the wrestlers topractice. The conventional wrestling mats are quite large and aredifficult to handle and store. In an effort to overcome the handling andstorage problem, the mats are sometimes made in multiple piece unitswhich are less than satisfactory. If a onepiece mat is used. it requiresseveral people to manually carry the mat to some storage location whichis difficult and dangerous since the mat may weight as much as 1,500pounds.

Therefore, it is a principal object of the invention to provide anapparatus for storing and transporting athletic equipment.

A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus for storingand transporting athletic equipment such as wrestling mats or the like.

A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus for storingand transporting athletic equipment including a sling means which may belowered from an overhead location to allow the mat to be placed therein.

A further object of the invention is to provide an ap paratus forstoring and transporting athletic equipment such as a one-piecewrestling mat.

A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus for storingand transporting athletic equipment which prevents damage to theequipment.

A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus for storingand transporting athletic equipment which is convenient and safe to use.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus forstoring and transporting athletic equip ment which is economical ofmanufacture, durable in use and refined in appearance.

These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS This invention consists in theconstruction, arrangements and combination of the various parts of thedevice, whereby the objects contemplated are attained as hereinaftermore fully set forth. specifically pointed out in the claims, andillustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a partial perspective view of the apparatus being used tostore a mat:

FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view illustrating the sling of theapparatus in a lowered condition with a portion of the mat engaging thesame:

FIG. 3 is an enlarged partial sectional view seen on lines 3 3 of FIG.1:

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the trolley or movable means with thehousing removed therefrom:

FIG. 5 is a sectional view seen on lines 5 5 of FIG. 3:

FIG. 6 is a sectional view seen on lines 6 6 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 7 is a sectional view seen on lines 7 7 of FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The apparatus of this inventionis referred to generally by the reference numeral 10 while the referencenumeral 12 refers to a flexible wrestling mat or the like. An overheadhorizontally disposed support beam 14 would normally extend over thegymnasium floor or the like and has an I-shaped cross-sectionalconfiguration.

A trolley means or movable means 16 is longitudinally movably mounted onsupport beam 14 as illustrated in the drawings. Movable means 16comprises a frame means 18 including a pair of spaced apart framemembers 20 and 22 interconnected by U-shaped channels 24, 26, 28 and 30.

As seen in FIG. 4, a pair of trolleys 32 and 32' are secured to andextend upwardly from the channels 26 and 30 respectively and engage thelower flange 34 of the support beam as also illustrated in the drawings.The numeral 36 refers to an electric gear motor mounted on channel 38which is secured to and extends between the beams 20 and 22 as seen inFIG. 4. Gear motor 36 drives a sprocket 40 which is connected tosprocket 42 by chain 44. As seen in FIG. 7, sprocket 42 is secured to anaxle 46 which is rotatably mounted on the upper ends of supports 48 and50 which are secured to channel 52 and which extend upwardly therefrom.A rubber tire is mounted on the axle 46 for rotation therewith andfrictionally engages the bottom surface of the lower flange 34 ofsupport beam 14 as illustrated in FIG. 7. Thus, actuation of gear motor36 causes the drive tire 54 to rotate with respect to the support beamso that the movable means 16 moves relative to the support beam 14. Gearmotor 36 is reversible to enable the movable means 116 to move in eitherdirection along the length of the support beam 14.

A reversible gear motor 56 with an electric brake is secured to thechannel 58 which extends between the frame members 20 and 22 as alsoseen in FIG. 4. Gear motor 56 drives a sprocket (not shown) which isconnected to the sprocket 60 by the chain 62. Sprocket 60 is mounted onshaft 64 for rotation therewith which is rotatably mounted on thebrackets 66 and 68 secured to the frame members 20 and 22. Drum 70 isalso mounted on the shaft 64 for rotation therewith as is a sprocket 72.Chain 74 extends around the sprocket 72 and extends around a sprocket 76which is mounted on shaft 78 which rotatably extends between a pair ofbrackets 80 secured to the frame members 20 and 22. Drum 82 is mountedon the shaft 78 for rotation therewith.

The numeral 84 refers generally to a cable which is wrapped around thedrum 70 and which extends therefrom towards one end of the movable meansas seen in FIG. 4. Cable 84 extends over a rotatable pulley 86 securedto the channel 24. The numeral 88 refers to a cable which is wrappedaround the drum 82 and which extends therefrom towards the other end ofthe movable means as seen in FIGS. 3 and 4. Cable 88 extends over therotatable pulley 90 which is secured to the channel 28. It should benoted at this time that the drums 70 and 82 have the same diameters andthat the sprockets 72 and 76 also have the same diameters. The chain 74serves to synchronize the operation of the two drums. The numeral 92refers generally to a housing which extends around the movable means 16as seen in FIG. 1.

A sling means 94 is secured to the lower ends of the cables 84 and 88and comprises generally an elongated bar 96 having a plurality of hooks98 secured thereto in a spaced apart relation as depicted in FIG. 2. Aplurality of flexible straps 100 are secured at one end thereof to oneside of the bar 96 and have a plurality of straps 102 secured theretoand extending therebetween as also seen in FIG. 2. Each of the free endsof the straps 100 are provided with an opening 104 formed therein whichis adapted to receive the hook 98 as will be described in more detailhereinafter.

Assuming that the wrestling mat 12 is on the gymnasium floor and thatthe movable means is positioned overhead, the method of operation is asfollows. Gear motor 36 is activated to approximately position themovable means 16 over the mat 12. The gear motor 56 is then operated tocause the rotation of the drums 70 and 72 so that the cables 84 and 88unwind therefrom respectively to cause sling means 94 to be lowered.When sling means 94 has been lowered close to the floor, the straps 100are disconnected from the hooks 98 and spread out on the floor. One endof the mat 12 is then placed on the straps 100 as seen in FIG. 2. Mat 12is then rolled-up onto the straps 100 with the straps 100 then beingsecured to the hooks 98.

Gear motor 56 is then operated to raise the sling means and the mat tothe desired height. The gear motor 36 is selectively operated toposition the movable means and sling means longitudinally along supportbeam 14. The mat may be transported to the gymnasium balcony if desiredor may be left suspended in the sling means until some future time.

It can be appreciated that the sling means can be used to transport andstore equipment other than wrestling mats. Thus, it can be seen that anovel apparatus has been provided for storing and transporting athleticequipment which accomplishes at least all of its stated objectives.

I claim:

1. An apparatus for storing and transporting athletic equipmentcomprising,

an overhead horizontally disposed support beam,

movable means mounted on said support beam,

first power means on said movable means for selectively longitudinallydriving said movable means with respect to said support beam,

at least a pair of cable members extending downwardly from said movablemeans,

a sling means secured to the lower ends of said cable members forremovably supporting athletic equipment therein at times,

and second power means on said movable means for selectively raising andlowering said cable members and said sling means.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said sling means comprises ahorizontally disposed bar secured to the lower ends of said cablemembers, a plurality of flexible straps secured at one end thereof tosaid bar, and means for detachably securing the other ends of saidstraps to said bar.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said movable means comprises ahorizontally disposed frame means, said first power means comprising arotatable drive wheel in frictional engagement with said support and anelectric motor means operatively connected to said drive wheel forselectively rotating said drive wheel in either direction at times.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said movable means comprises ahorizontally disposed frame means having opposite ends, saidsecond'power means comprising first and second spaced apart drumsrotatably mounted on said frame means, means connecting said drums forsynchronizing the rotation thereof, said first and second cable membersbeing wound upon said first and second drums respectively and extendingtherefrom, and an electric motor operatively connected to said firstdrum for selectively rotating the same in either direction at times.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said first and second cable membersextend downwardly from opposite ends of said frame means.

1. An apparatus for storing and transporting athletic equipmentcomprising, an overhead horizontally disposed support beam, movablemeans mounted on said support beam, first power means on said movablemeans for selectively longitudinally driving said movable means withrespect to said support beam, at least a pair of cable members extendingdownwardly from said movable means, a sling means secured to the lowerends of said cable members for removably supporting athletic equipmenttherein at times, and second power means on said movable means forselectively raising and lowering said cable members and said slingmeans.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said sling means comprises ahorizontally disposed bar secured to the lower ends of said cablemembers, a plurality of flexible straps secured at one end thereof tosaid bar, and means for detachably securing the other ends of saidstraps to said bar.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said movablemeans comprises a horizontally disposed frame means, said first powermeans comprising a rotatable drive wheel in frictional engagement withsaid support and an electric motor means operatively connected to saiddrive wheel for selectively rotating said drive wheel in eitherdirection at times.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said movablemeans comprises a horizontally disposed frame means having oppositeends, said second power means comprising first and second spaced apartdrums rotatably mounted on said frame means, means connecting said drumsfor synchronizing the rotation thereof, said first and second cablemembers being wound upon said first and second drums respectively andextending therefrom, and an electric motor operatively connected to saidfirst drum for selectively rotating the same in either direction attimes.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said first and second cablemembers extend downwardly from opposite ends of said frame means.